Let there be light: Power returns to Niagara County

Press release

Sat, Jul 20th 2013 09:35 pm

National Grid

Electricity
gradually returned Saturday afternoon and evening to the homes of
National Grid customers in Niagara County that were dark following
Friday's storm.

As of 9:30 p.m.,
less than 1,000 homes were waiting to receive electricity. Just 12
hours earlier, more than 5,000 homes in Lewiston alone were without
power. National Grid reported that, at the storm's peak, about 75,000
customers in upstate New York were left in the dark. About 28,500
customers were in the Western New York region - primarily in Erie
and Niagara counties.

When asked what
triggered the blackout, a representative from National Grid said, "We
had or still have damage in all levels of our network, from high
voltage transmission lines down to individual customer issues. All
crews in and working with additional crews from other parts of the
state on their way."

"This was a fast
moving, but very severe storm that came with extremely high winds and
caused extensive damage to our electric system," said Ken Daly,
National Grid president, New York state. "We remain in close
contact with local emergency response teams and local officials as we
move from damage assessment to restoration efforts today."

WGRZ reported
Niagara Falls had declared a limited state of emergency. Several
streets in the Hyde Park and DeVeaux neighborhoods were closed off
due to the presence of large, fallen tree limbs.

The Village of
Lewiston had large piles of brush on North Fourth and Oneida streets,
but removed the debris with minimal traffic diversions.